In the U.S., over 27 million people have some sort of thyroid disease and women are seven times more likely to become affected then men. The problem is that around 60% of us aren't aware that we have thyroid issues.
Your thyroid is small but it has a powerful impact on our health. This butterfly-shaped gland is the largest endocrine gland and plays a major role in metabolism and the development of the human body.
"We have reached almost epidemic levels of thyroid disease," Dr. Richard Shames M.D., a leading expert and author of "Thyroid Mind Power," tells Newsmax. "Many factors including environmental chemicals cause the thyroid to block its production of crucial hormones that are vital to every cell of the body. These chemicals affect our metabolism and our energy levels.
"Both high and low thyroid disease as well as thyroid cancer are autoimmune diseases," he says. "The underlying cause of the increase in autoimmunity across the board is the incessantly increasing pollution of our air, food, and water with thousands of hormone- and immune-disrupting synthetic chemicals."
Here are 10 signs that your thyroid is not functioning properly:
- Depression. Both high and low thyroid levels are often major assaults on the entire mental function. "Repeated epidemiological studies have clearly shown that from one quarter to one third of all depressions are actually thyroid-related," says Shames. Depression is an enormously common issue and millions of people are mistakenly given antidepressants instead of much less expensive and much more effective thyroid medicine. At least 75-80% of post-partum depression is thyroid-related, he adds.
- Changes in skin tone and appearance. Hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid, slows down skin cell turnover, making your skin feel rougher. If your skin feels moist or warm, you may be suffering from an overactive thyroid, or hyperthyroidism.
- Weight loss or gain. An overactive thyroid can cause a significant weight loss because it revs up your metabolism. On the other hand, hypothyroidism slows down the metabolism, making it difficult to lose weight.
- Sleep loss. Lack of sleep is rapidly becoming a major issue in this country, notes Shames. "Nothing messes with your ability to get a good night's sleep like an out-of-balance thyroid," says Shames, a Harvard-educated practicing physician.
- Cravings. Whether it is simply over-indulging on one particular food or suffering from an actual eating disorder, an underlying thyroid imbalance is often overlooked. "It is very often a contributing factor in the onset and perpetuation of a presenting illness," says Shames. "In fact, undiagnosed thyroid problems are a distressingly frequent but often ignored factor in actual substance abuse and addiction."
- Memory. Problems with memory are dramatically on the rise — as are thyroid issues. "These two events are directly related," says the expert. "Both high and low thyroid levels can cause not just difficulties with ordinary memory, but true symptoms of actual attention deficit disorder and even dementia. It's sadly all too common that a person is given the devastating diagnoses of Alzheimer's disease when they actually have a thyroid disorder."
- Low energy. Both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism can result in a dramatic loss of energy. An overactive thyroid can jack up your metabolism so high that your body eventually crashes, while an underactive thyroid leaves you zapped all the time.
- Poor digestion. Hyperthyroidism speeds up everything — including bowel movements — so you are constantly running to the restroom as your digestion goes into overdrive. Conversely, hypothyroidism can cause slow digestion and constipation.
- Hair loss. This can occur with both hyperactive and hypothyroid issues. While thinning hair is a sign of hyperthyroidism and happens uniformly all over the scalp and body, people with underactive thyroids may lose hair on the outer edges of their eyebrows.
- Bulging eyes. Folks with eyes that appear open in a wide-eyed stare may be suffering from Graves' disease, a type of hyperthyroidism that occurs when tissue accumulates behind the eyes.